1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to print circuits in general. More particularly, the present invention relates to flexible printed circuits. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flexible printed circuit capable of transmitting electrical and optical signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Printed circuit boards are commonly used to interconnect electronic components to each other. A multilayer printed circuit board typically includes several layers of copper traces embedded within a epoxy board. The copper traces are designed and lay out to provide proper electrical connections for various electronic components mounted on the multilayer printed circuit board. Electronic components can be mounted on a multilayer printed circuit board using solder joint or surface mount technology.
Conventional printed circuit boards are typically rigid in nature and may not be suitable for all applications. Thus, for some applications, flexible printed circuits are used to reduce packaging costs without affecting electrical performance.
As for high-speed electronic applications, optical devices are used instead of electronic components. As such, optical fibers are needed to interconnect optical devices. However, conventional printed circuit boards include only interconnects that are only capable of transmitting electrical signals.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved flexible printed circuit board that is capable of transmitting more than electrical signals.